


Selfish

by SpiritPhantasm



Category: Gintama
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 14:51:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16307261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritPhantasm/pseuds/SpiritPhantasm
Summary: Shouyou learns how to be a bit selfish.





	Selfish

Tonight, the usual monthly event of dinner together with the _Family_ is held in the Odd Jobs. It meant Shinpachi screaming orders at the other two until his throat is sore while Kagura steals food from a cooking Gintoki, who seems to insist on using chopsticks to defend his domain and then plunging them right back into the _nabe_ after having both sticking into her nostrils.

(Shinpachi will skin them with a potato peeler if he finds out so they don’t fight when he’s in the room)

In between all the cracking and banging, they almost missed the sound of the front door opening and closing, but all three perks up at the familiar voice.

Shinpachi pokes his head out of the kitchen, smiling widely. “Welcome home, Shouyou-san! You’re early.”

Shouyou returns Shinpachi’s smile with his own, lifting a two-tiered box wrapped in blue _furoshiki_. “I thought I should come back and help with the preparations.”

“You don’t have to, everything is in orde—“ Shinpachi slams into the wall and almost crack to death thanks to an excited yato who rushed past him to get to Shouyou. Or, well, the food in his hands.

 “Mommy! You brought meal home!” She cheers.

“Good evening, Kagura.” He greets while the girl clamors and squeeze up to him because she’s only ever adorable when begging for food.

“What’s inside? What’s inside?”

“It’s steamed _mochi_ buns, would you like to try some?” He offered, opening the top layer to show the delicious white buns that had Kagura cooing.

“Shouyou! Don’t give that brat any dessert before dinner!” Gintoki shouts as he passes by from the kitchen to the living room, arms laden with utensils.

“Only a few won’t ruin her appetite. Right, Kagura?” Shouyou grins playfully to the girl who’s already gobbling down the treats. She nods, garbled words coming out of her stuffed mouth, sounding like a mangled _“yeeeeaaasssh”_

Shinpachi sighs fondly while Gintoki rolls his eyes.

Shouyou joins their routine easily like he’s always been here—more like an extension of their family than a newcomer, and it helps that he can navigate through the chaos easily. With all four of them combining their strengths, the meals are cooked and the couches moved to make room for the massive table, and preparations are done.

Half an hour later, Takasugi and Katsura appears on the doorstep with a duck, a lolita and a fangirl, each holding their own food to contribute. Katsura, the cheapskate, brought veggies for the nabe, spinning some ridiculous story about a girl and her father and a farm, yada yada yada. Takasugi is somewhat better with the ramen, but who the fuck eats ramen in hot summer nights? One-eyed assholes, apparently.

When the dinner officially began, it’s chaos from the very first second. The _nabe_ lost all of its meat in fifteen seconds flat thanks to having the best assassin in the whole damn universe as one of the participant. On top of that, Katsura’s shouting about a long-ass story nobody’s listening to, Takasugi’s glowering at them from the corner of the table for sitting close to his sensei.

Meanwhile, Kagura is too busy polishing every plate in sight to care about any of those things and Shinpachi is one inch away from dying of frustration—the usual fare.

In the middle of the chaos, Gintoki sees Shouyou slinking off to the kitchen with empty plates and in a whim followed him.

“How’s work been? That sweet, sweet tax payer money really helps with everyday life over here.” He pipes up when he enters the other room, the massacre going on across the corridor uffled like they’re coming from another room. Which it does.

“Good. Children are much easier to handle when I don’t have three hellions making troubles all day long.” Shouyou answers with his usual smile.

“Yeah, right. Like all those rich brats whose parents bought them everything can compete with us.”

“Careful, they’re your junior disciples.” Shouyou reprimands playfully. Gintoki sees him placing down empty box into the sink and remembered the buns.

“Those buns come from that old man’s place right? You said you wanted to try some.” He pipes up, placing his chin on Shouyou’s shoulder. “Tasty?”

 “I’d think so.”

“Think so?” Gintoki paused and almost slap his own forehead. “Wait. Don’t tell me you gave your share to that vacuum cleaner?”

Shouyou’s smile is an answer on its own.

“Shouyou, goddamit.” Gintoki groans.

“Kagura looked happy, doesn’t she?” He attempts deflects the obvious exasperation in Gintoki’s tone.

“That glutton’s happy to eat anything, tasty or not. Listen,” Gintoki tangles his hand in Shouyou’s hair and leans in close, foreheads almost touching “stop being such a stranger already.”

“What do you mean?” Shouyou looks confused but still tilts into the hand in his hair.

“I mean, you shoulda’ broken her fingers for the food. You can be a little bit selfish, y’know?”

Shouyou stops at that, staring with big green eyes that never failed to remind him why he loves this infuriating immortal so much.

“Selfish?” Shouyou’s eyes slide lower as he ponders the concept. Gintoki would have waited out the contemplative silence if not for Shinpachi’s shout.  

“Gin-san? Shouyou-san? Nobume-san and Soyo-hime is here with the _kushi-katsu_! It’ll run out if you don’t come back soon!”

Gintoki jumps at the mention of food and rushes out to his free, expensive meal while shouting for Kagura to _don’t release the black hole yet!!,_ leaving Shouyou to follow him in a sedate pace.

Honestly, Gintoki had almost forgotten about that conversation with Shouyou in the kitchen. Kind of hard to remember something as mundane as reminding him to act less distant when it was followed by an all-out brawl with a Yato for meat, another one with Katsura for the karaoke privilege and then with Takasugi because he’s a jackass with a punchable face.

In the end, the dinner ends with everyone having their bellies full with a few bruises as souvenirs. Especially two of Shouyou’s particularly stupid disciples who, after the introduction of alcohol into the mix, decided it’s a good idea to battle in the middle of the room. The lolita’s dragging him home now and the fangirl’s shouting expletive at a half-dead Gintoki who’s busy puking into the toilet.

But two days later, the conversation crops up again.

That night, Gintoki walks to the living room to see Shouyou standing around looking a bit conflicted—not a rare sight now that Gintoki can see Shouyou as what he truly is; a rag doll of traumas stitched together crudely. The last time he’s seen that look is when Kagura brought home a pet scorpion and Utsuro was almost unleashed to the world.

Gintoki is not looking forward to Earth’s Destruction 2.0, so he steps up and prevents it by hugging the man from behind and burying his face in his hair.

Shouyou smells nice. Must be the shampoo.

“You’re done already?” Shouyou asks, looking up at him with startlingly bright green eyes.

“Mmm… might have left half of my soul back there. What’s with the long face?”

“Do you remember that conversation about selfishness?” Shouyou asks.

“Yeah, sure, what about it? Found something you want?”

“I guess you can say that.”

“Great! Come on, lay it out on Gin-san. He’ll clear that achievement in record speed!”

 “I thought it’d be okay.” He adds quietly. “If it you, it should be okay.”

Gintoki loosens his arms when Shouyou shifts and turns around to face him. He can’t see his face from this angle, shadows cast on his face from the overhead light. Before Gintoki can even think of something to say, Shouyou leans up and pecks him on the cheek.

“Goodnight, Gintoki.” He mutters and steps back, turning around and walking into the bathroom before Gintoki can exhale a ‘ _yeah’_.

Right before Shouyou closes the door behind him, their eyes met and Gintoki finally sees his face. Red and flustered, with his lips pressed together like a kid on a kindergarten with their first crush. He doesn’t slam the door closed, Gintoki doubts a guy who apologizes for walking into walls _to the_ _walls_ even could, but the slide is definitely faster and firmer than usual.

Mother _fucker_ , Gintoki thought dazedly not for the first time. That was cute.

(The next day, Shouyou stands a bit closer and kisses him a bit fiercer. And if this is his interpretation of being a bit more selfish, then yeah, Gintoki can live with it. He very, very much can)


End file.
